


For Now

by KateLouisaRose



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, M/M, One Shot, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 11:24:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8665705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KateLouisaRose/pseuds/KateLouisaRose
Summary: 'They'd been dancing around one another for months now, he and Arthur.' Merlin and Arthur can't seem to keep their hands off one another, but the next day, Arthur pretends that nothing is different. Merlin begins to think that this might just work.





	

Merlin was used to this by now. As he stood outside with his trousers in his arms while Arthur shut the door in his face, he contemplated actually going through with ignoring the prince altogether and just cutting him off. Although, Merlin reasoned, ignoring someone was a lot easier in theory when you already had to wait on them hand and foot every moment of the day. Merlin grinned and shook his head at the last glimpse of Arthur's smirking face as the prince shut the door on him.

"Busy night?" Gwen asked him when he bumped into her on the way back to his room. Merlin shrugged, hoping he at least looked like he'd spent the night in his own bed. Having already pulled his trousers on outside Arthur's chambers, Merlin was less convinced about the state of his hair. He was proven correct when Gwen tried to smooth it down with her free hand, jostling the laundry basket she was carrying on her hip.

"You're going to get caught one of these days, Merlin, and not by me." Gwen chided.

"Well I'll just have to make sure you're there to provide an alibi." Merlin ducked out of her grasp and waved goodbye to her as he jogged down the hall. Gwen shook her head with a smile.

They'd been dancing around one another for months now, he and Arthur. When Arthur first cornered him in the hallway outside his chambers, Merlin hadn't exactly expected the sudden crush of Arthur's lips on his, the desperate, heated sex, Merlin bent over Arthur's table, the breathless, stunned silence afterwards, and then Arthur kicking Merlin out of his room the second Merlin had tied his breeches. In fact, he'd rather been expecting a punch in the face.

Perhaps a punch in the face would have been easier to forget about, Merlin thought. The next day, Merlin had entered Arthur's chambers with his breakfast and gone about his duties. When he tried to bring up what had happened the day before, however, Arthur had shut down completely.

"Yesterday was..." Merlin said into the heavy silence. Arthur took a bite of apple and studied Merlin's face expectantly.

"Go on."

"I mean, for me, that is. It was... yeah." Merlin stuttered.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, Merlin." Arthur told him evenly, going back to his breakfast.

"What? I'm talking about when you..." Merlin gestured to the table. "And you did that thing." Arthur blinked at him. "With your tongue."

Merlin bit the inside of his cheek irritably. "You know what? Fine. You want to pretend it didn't happen, whatever."

Merlin could feel Arthur watching him leave.

* * *

The day after, Arthur had Merlin backed up against a pillar in the banquet hall. His mouth was everywhere and Merlin could only hold onto his arms for support as Arthur kissed at his neck and Merlin's legs turned to jelly. 

"I thought this was a one-time thing." Merlin managed between Arthur's hungry kisses. Arthur shrugged noncommittally and grabbed Merlin's hand, dragging him towards the doors and back to his chambers. 

"Hungh," Merlin grunted some moments later as Arthur rolled off of him, shoving his face into the pillow.

"Don't you have chores to do?" Arthur muttered, dragging himself out of his bed. The dopy smile on Merlin's face disappeared and he grabbed his scattered clothes angrily.

* * *

That Tuesday morning, Arthur had declared that he was going out hunting. Merlin was of course forced to go with him, placed somewhat strategically at the back of the hunting party. The whole journey Merlin had tried to understand why Arthur kept pushing him away, watching the prince lead the party through the dense forest.

The idea that Arthur might even be ashamed of him, wanted to hide him away, stung. Merlin bundled himself up in his scarf and glared at some invisible point between his horse's ears, keeping his seat and riding with the motion of the animal.

They stopped at noon, leading their horses to the river to drink. Merlin kept his distance from the prince, still bristling. Arthur, for his part, ignored him completely. Merlin watched angrily as Arthur joked with the knights, thumping Percival companionably on the shoulder. Why did this have to bother him, Merlin wondered? If he wanted, he could go with any of the knights. Percival himself had always seemed interested, and Gwaine had more than suggested as such on several occasions. He had other offers! Regardless, Arthur clearly _wanted_ him, and he reasoned that he could hardly expect a declaration of marriage after a few bouts of rather ecstatic fucking. No matter how hard he tried to shake it, Merlin couldn't take his mind off of the matter.

By the time the troupe had settled down in a clearing for the night, Merlin was seething. Even the freshly killed deer for supper hadn't softened his mood.  It was almost a relief when he and Arthur retired to their shared tent. When Arthur rolled over in the night, the thick covering of furs shifting over their bare legs, and slid a warm hand beneath Merlin's nightshirt, it was too much. Merlin tore his hand away, teeth bared angrily as he shoved Arthur onto his back. He paused, the heat of their bodies suddenly intensely distracting. Arthur fixed him with an almost resigned gaze, but the excited throb of his cock against Merlin's stomach betrayed his interest. Merlin gave a helpless groan and crushed their lips together, tugging Arthur's nightshirt over his hips.

They woke in to the blue, hazy light of dawn, their breath clouding in the air, noses buried in each other's necks. Beneath the furs their bodies created a secret, delicious heat of their own, their legs tangled together, fingers clutching occasionally at one another. Arthur blinked sleepily against the light, blowing a tuft of Merlin's dark hair out of his face. He extracted himself from Merlin's embrace and sat up, reaching blindly for his trousers. Merlin felt him stir, face emerging from the furs. He watched Arthur struggle with his clothes for a moment.

"Why do you do this?" Merlin murmured.

Arthur's head whipped round. "Do _what?_ " He hissed.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Pretend that this isn't... what it is."

Arthur's expression changed, became unguarded, afraid.

"I.." He frowned at himself. "It's... self preservation." He met Merlin's gaze.

"Oh." Merlin said, barely above a whisper. Arthur shook his head, pulled his shirt on and batted away the flaps of the tent, stepping outside into the bright morning.

* * *

As they travelled back to Camelot, Arthur tried to separate himself from Merlin again, urging his horse forward so that he was away from the rest of the hunting party, but now Merlin knew what he was doing and he wasn't about to let it happen. Merlin gave his horse a sharp kick and soon he was riding level with Arthur. Arthur slowed to a walk and eyed Merlin nervously.

Merlin opened his mouth, closed it again. He stared straight ahead.

"I've washed your blue shirt for the tournament on Thursday, is that alright?" Merlin said at last.

Arthur glanced at him gratefully. "I thought I'd wear the red one." He said with a slight smirk. "Honestly  Merlin, what's the point in wearing _blue_ to a tournament when Camelot's colours are red and gold?"

Merlin grinned to himself. "I'll wash the red one."

"No you won't, you'll spend all your time in the tavern like always and I'll have to get one of the maids to do it."

"Perhaps you should wash your own damn shirt for once." Merlin laughed as Arthur swiped at him from astride his horse.

* * *

When they returned, Merlin settled the horses in the stable, removing their saddles and tack, feeding and watering them. He heard the door to the stable open, the heavy bolt being drawn. He smiled to himself. As Arthur strode past, Merlin pounced on him, grabbed the prince by his lapels and dragged him into an empty stable where they fell into a pile of hay, grinning stupidly at one another.

"Hey," Arthur said.

Merlin grinned. "Hay." He replied, grabbing a handful of the stuff and shoving it down Arthur's shirt. So began a very tense and very quiet wrestling match which quickly dissolved into Merlin riding Arthur's hip with his breeches halfway down his legs.  

* * *

The feast that had celebrated Arthur's return was a grand one, although Merlin couldn't recall a feast that had ever _not_  been grand in Camelot. Merlin held tightly onto the flask of wine he was charged with pouring, and ignored every glance that Arthur sent him in between bouts of raucous laughter with the other knights. When Arthur beckoned him over, Merlin bent beside him and dutifully poured the rich wine into his quickly emptying goblet. He barely flinched at the hand which came to rest casually on his thigh.

"You're really pushing it, my lord." Merlin murmured, unable to hide the twitch of his lips.

Arthur didn't reply, merely removing his hand as Merlin stepped away. The drink had made Arthur far too relaxed, Merlin realised. He watched him hanging off the knights' shoulders, cheeks flushed.

"Sir Percival seems to be rather interested in you tonight." Gwen said in her teasing voice as she snuck up behind Merlin.

"What?"

"Sir Percival." Gwen repeated, nodding towards the knight, who, Merlin realised, was staring hotly at him from the other side of the table. He flashed him a smile. Merlin's eyes widened.

"You _flirt,_ Merlin!" Gwen giggled.

"Shhh." Merlin grinned.

"Well, someone's got you all flustered."

"You're a real nightmare, do you know that?"

"Oh shush."

Merlin laughed, and took a swig of the wine while nobody was looking.

"I think Arthur might need some assistance soon." Gwen commented. Merlin could feel the sweat prickle on the back of his neck.

"You might be right there."

Arthur had presently broken out in song, badly, and entirely inappropriately for dinner, given the raunchy lyrics.

"If you'll excuse me." Merlin sighed.

A few moments later and Merlin had successfully snatched Arthur from the jaws of total embarrassment, and was  leading him towards his chambers.

"I'm just merry, Merlin!" Arthur grumbled, his arm warm and draped across Merlin's shoulders. Merlin just ignored him, and got him inside the room without too much fuss, where he set to work undressing Arthur without a thought to how soft and pliant he was, and how pink his cheeks were and how the wine had stained his lips and tongue. At some point Arthur lost his balance a little and ended up sitting on the bed while Merlin tugged off his breeches.

He realised that Arthur hadn't spoken for some time, and when he looked up, Arthur was staring, open mouthed at him as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"What?" Merlin said, and Arthur grabbed a fistful of his shirt and dragged him up to his mouth, already moaning low in his throat as they kissed slow and wet, settling into each other like nesting boxes.

Arthur made a soft noise of protest as Merlin pulled away and sank to his knees again.

"What are you - oh." He trailed off as Merlin took the pink head of his cock into his mouth and he watched Merlin's wet lips slide down the length of him. Arthur's eyes rolled back in his head as Merlin pulled him to the edge of the bed.

"You're incredible." Arthur breathed, and Merlin would have had some clever retort for that, were it not for the delicious heat of Arthur's cock in his mouth and his fingers digging into the backs of Arthur's thighs and the ache of his jaw as he angled his head better and Arthur moaning deep and long and running his fingers through Merlin's hair like it was the best thing he'd ever felt in his life.

When Arthur came, Merlin cleaned them up with a lazy wave of his hand and a little whisper of magic and resisted  the powerful lull of Arthur's breathing as it tapered out into sleep, and extracted himself from Arthur's arms. Merlin shook his head at Arthur's satiated smile and covered him with the sheet before pulling himself together and walking out with more confidence than he'd had in months.

And then he saw Gwen.

Who looked like someone who had just overheard something she did not want to overhear.

"Gwen." He said dumbly.

"Merlin."

"Where are you going?"

"I was just on my way to the great hall to collect the last of the plates when I heard the loudest noise and I thought 'who in God's name is killing Arthur' and then I see you walking out of his chambers with a massive smile on your face and the worst hair on a person that I have ever seen."

"Ah."

"Quite."

"I don't suppose that you'd consider not telling everyone we know about this, would you?" Merlin said with pleading eyes. Gwen dropped the indignant act.

"Your secret's safe with me." She said after an exaggerated pause. "Now go, before I change my mind." Merlin squeezed her arm gratefully as he escaped down the corridor, frantically smoothing his hair.

And so that was the way it was. The next day, Arthur behaved as though nothing had happened, and Merlin pretended that nothing had, and on Thursday Arthur sought him out in the food cellars and fucked him on a bed of potato sacks.

It worked, and Merlin didn't know how long it was going to work for, but for now they were prince and manservant and they respected and trusted one another, and they had the moments in between to be everything else. For now, that was enough.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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